


A Colossal Fix Fic

by IceDevice



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Reibert Implications yeah, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death Fix, Drastic changes to canon, Fix Fic, Gen, Minor Canonical Character(s), POV character changes with each chapter, Parallel Stories, character resurrection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 05:52:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8566462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceDevice/pseuds/IceDevice
Summary: A canon-rewrite of Shingeki no Kyojin, starting from Chapter 49. Major changes and differences in focus; started in response to Chapters 80-84. Focus given to Titan side of the story, character deaths changed, nulled, and applied as appropriate. Much snipping will be done. Please enjoy and leave a review.





	1. Author's Notes and Chapter 01 - Escape

**Author's Note:**

> It happens at some point in every fandom. Your author just fucks up one, two, three times, and then they do That One Thing that pushes you over the edge. You reach that point, and you say “fuck it” and then “I quit”. For me, that point was Attack on Titan, Chapter 84. It was a miserable experience, after having grown so very attached to the characters and looked to SnK as a beacon where other fandoms and series had failed for me.
> 
> I won’t bore you by getting up on my soapbox and delivering a rant, I’ve done dozens of those already (and feel free to ask for links at any time) on why Isayama is a bad author and why his series, which has good ideas, suffers for it. Point is, things changed because this time, I discovered that other people were furious with what was happening too. That made it a lot easier. Sharing the salt, so to speak. One of my closest SnK friends talked about bleaching and rewriting, something we all wish we could do when our fandoms upset us, and it just clicked: a fix fic.
> 
> I’ve never written one of these before—in fact, it’s been five, maybe six years since I wrote fanfiction, period. After my FFNet phase, I moved on to Tumblr roleplay, where I made a Reiner and I like to think I was good at playing him. But if I seem rusty, this is why. I promise I’ll resist the urge to infuse the whole thing with a bunch of irrelevant gay sex. 
> 
> This fanfiction picks up at Chapter 49, where the chase after the Armored Titan comes to a head and just before the Coordinate shows itself. Expect a hefty dose of realism, stripping away of much of the heroes’ plot armor, and a rewrite of several characters’ stories. Gonna warn you now guys, what I’m about to write is what I consider canon over actual canon, not because this is what I wish had happened, but because I think this is what should have happened. Some things will be kept, but a lot of things will be changed. Since I'm not down to reiterate redundant material, snipping will be done where nothing is changed. I hope you guys enjoy it for what it is.

_“...Eren’s ability...”_

_“If there were some way...”_

_“Give Eren back!”_

“EREN!”

The world seemed to snap back into focus, if chaos like this could be called focus. Eren leaned up, trying to pull himself up from the ground, groggy and only aware that everything was loud, he could taste blood, and that someone was pulling on his arm. It took him only a second to remember what had just happened: Erwin had yanked him away from Bertholdt, only for Eren to struggle and fall out of his grip a little too high. But why had he struggled?

Eren jerked upward, searching the area. The world was sideways, and Titans were everywhere, their massive feet shaking the ground with every step they took. _Hannes_. Even though he knew what had happened, Eren could not make himself stop searching for that face amongst all the carnage. Hannes was not dead. That Titan was not here. Those two things could not be possible.

Eren isn’t done scanning the area when he feels another jerk, and he’s being hauled away. Without seeing her face, he knew it was Mikasa, carrying him over her shoulder the same way she had done many times before. Again, he struggles to get out of his savior’s grip.

“Stop it Eren! Quit! _Eren_!”

And he did stop, realizing that he could not escape without arms, nor run with his leg making that painful twinge that meant it was sprained or broken. So he let his sister carry him, breath leaving him when she lunged into the air and barely escaped the hand of a Titan bearing down on them.

“Where are we going?” he cried. “Where are Reiner and Bertholdt?!”

“Gone.” Mikasa huffed, twisting through trees and going higher. “Ymir left with them, but Christa’s still here. And you’re here, which is the important thing. They left empty-handed.”

“ _No they didn’t_.” Eren answered, teeth ground together. Every life lost here was blood on their hands. He’d add that to the blood he’d shed when tormenting them later on for their genocide at Wall Maria. One day….

The cacophony of the Titans stays with them, until they are finally high enough that he can think without hearing their footsteps. When he looks around, he can see a few soldiers here and there gliding alongside them. There weren’t nearly as many as had come charging after them when he’d been held on the Armored Titan’s neck, and what few there were were covered in blood, not all of it leaving in plumes of vapor. Looking around, Eren realized they were going for the situation he’d just escaped from: hide in the trees, too high for the Titans to reach.

“What are we doing?!” Eren heard Mikasa ask to someone on her left, invisible to him. “We can’t stay here, there are Titans after us, our numbers have been cut down, and Reiner and Bertholdt can’t be too far away. We’re just asking for them to come back and snatch Eren away again.”

“I know.” Eren was relieved to hear Armin’s voice, and know that he was alive. “We’re only going to be here for five minutes, ten maximum, just long enough to regroup and get our bearings. We lost a lot of people in this rescue operation and it only narrowly worked. As it is, we’ll be lucky if we get back to the walls alive.”

“Let them come.” Eren interrupted, squirming free of Mikasa’s grip to land on the branch underneath him. Before he could begin his litany on how he would kill the traitors, the world turned sideways again and he felt himself sliding downward.

“Eren!”

“Let them come.”, he gasped, hanging upside down off the side of the branch, one of his friends grasping each ankle. “I’ll kill them when they do, I’ll gut them, I’ll tear their heads off--!”

“Eren, shut up.” Armin said tersely. “You tried that, and you were beaten. We were _all_ beaten. Just be quiet and let us get back to Wall Rose with you, and then we can start planning for an attack, but right now we need to survive.”

Desperate for action, but realizing Armin was right, Eren huffed and stayed quiet as he allowed them to pull him back to safety. Once he was safely positioned away from the danger of falling to his death, or into Titan jaws, he took another look at himself.

To his frustration, his arms were still not done regenerating. How long would this take? He still barely had elbows, and it had been five hours if Reiner had been truthful. His leg, which had been felt broken a minute ago, was feeling better by far. His only guess was that he had escaped that fall with only a small fracture.

“Your mental state isn’t helping.” Armin said, apparently having read Eren’s face. “The shock of...what happened, it scrambled you.”

Eren understood ‘what happened’ to mean ‘Hannes’.

He maintained silence for a minute or so, ignoring Hanji Zöe when she swung around doing a head count.

“I hope enough horses survived.” Mikasa eventually said. “I’m sure some others are thinning the Titan numbers. Levi needs to recover soon, his assistance would’ve helped a lot here.”

“You were the one that caused him that injury, Mikasa.” Armin reminded her. “Besides, even Levi would have been no more than a normal man next to those two Titans. As it is, we can just hope that he’ll be on his feet again by the time we launch a second assault, when we’re better prepared.”

 _The Armored and Colossal Titans…_ Eren thought. Even now, brimming with hatred, it was still difficult to believe that his friends were genocidal monsters. All of that training and soldier talk Reiner had done, it was all lies… And all of the depressing musings Annie had made along the way made more sense now.

**“SCOUTS! RETURN TO YOUR SQUAD COMMANDERS AND HEAD NORTH!!”**

* * *

 The ride back to Wall Rose was nearly silent, barring the footfalls of Titans that eventually fell behind.

“Eren,” Armin whispered, leaning in from next to Eren in the cart. “Did you hear anything out of place while you were being held?”

Eren furrowed his brow, reading Armin's expression. It was doubtful that Reiner or Bertholdt had let anything slip, but if there was anything they could glean from Eren’s extended stay with them in the Forest of Giant Trees, they needed to know. Not that Armin didn’t trust Erwin with his life, but this was a staggering series of events. He’d obviously prefer to know before anyone else.

“No.” Eren answered bitterly, before remembering something. “Well...yes, but still mostly no. Reiner and Bertholdt didn’t speak to me if they didn’t have to, and Ymir made it her business to be cryptic. They mentioned something about ‘my ability’, but they made it sound like they weren’t talking about Titan Shifting. They never went into more detail.”

“You mean you might have some sort of power that could help? Something else they could want you for?” Armin said, brows furrowing. “Something that could be useful against them?”

“That’d be nice.” Eren said. “And….”

“And what?”

He was hesitant to tell Armin, or anyone really, the biggest revelation that had gone down in those trees: that Reiner was insane. He could and would forever feel nothing but vicious, murderous rage towards those two, and he _wanted_ to feel that. He did not want to sympathize in any way with the two mass murderers that were responsible for humanity’s suffering. To deny it was to allow him to continue his vengeful fantasies without interference. Eren sighed, as there was no real use in keeping it hidden, however much he might want to.

“Reiner’s mind has cracked like an egg.” he spat acidly, envisioning Reiner’s head undergoing the same. “He’s got some kind of….split personality. Ymir was theorizing on it and Reiner just about exploded on her. Part of him still thinks he’s a soldier.”

There was no verbal response from Armin, but Eren could tell that behind those light blue eyes, gears were turning.

“We’re almost there.” came the voice of a soldier to the left, interrupting their thoughts. “Get ready to load Eren out. Commander Erwin’s ordered him kept within base for the time being.”

 _Kept within the base…?_ Eren thought. What had happened, what was stopping them?

Wall Rose loomed over them, a light gray in the evening sun, and as they approached, the Gate opened. The cart Eren was on suddenly turned away from the group, veering off towards the left where the stables and discharge house were.

“Don’t panic.” came Mikasa’s voice as she casually hopped from her cart over to theirs. “I doubt this is a serious matter. Don’t say anything unless you’re spoken to, and don’t say anything important unless Erwin says so.”

Eren nodded, but couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his gut. Was he being detained again? No, probably not. But what was this trip about?

When the cart stopped, the other soldiers loaded Eren onto a stretcher, which he furiously denied needing until Mikasa pushed him onto it.

“I don’t need this!”

“I know, you were just whining too much.”

That shut Eren up, though his fury doubled along with his embarrassment.

“You two ‘aven’t been ordered to accompany him.” came the authoritative voice of another Corps member. “You need to get back on the carts.”

“We’re going with him.” Came Mikasa’s and Armin’s defiant voices simultaneously.

“No, ya’ not.” the man answered, unimpressed. “Commander Erwin strictly ordered Eren into the base alone. You two are to get back with the rest of the group and act like this ain’t happening.”

As expected, Eren saw Mikasa ready to raise complaint again until Armin pressed a hand to her shoulder. Though he didn’t like being separated from them, he knew Armin would keep her in line and in focus until they could talk again.

After carrying Eren’s stretcher into the base, the corps soldiers escorting him deposited him on a bed in a hallway just off the lobby, where he was ordered to stay and be quiet for a few minutes until someone came for him. Thankfully, it wasn’t a cell again, but it still had the bare-bones feeling of one, with nothing in the room except for a cot, a high window, and a bookshelf that was bare except for a few dusty tomes.

When the room door closed on him, leaving him alone with the rapidly dying sunlight, Eren sighed and let himself flop onto the bed, the stumps of his slowly-regenerating arms still steaming.

“What the hell are we gonna do now….”


	2. Chapter 01.5 - Titan Intermission 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting from here, every other chapter will be a Titan intermission of what's happening while the heroes are off doing their thing, until the point in time where the two stories converge.

“Just who the hell are you?”

The stranger in front of them was tall, with long dirty-blond hair and a thick beard. He wore glasses over his eyes, a loose shirt, stained grey pants, and combat boots, and was in the process of shaking on a similar coat. It was too late to hide what Reiner’s eyes no doubt had to have seen: a long scar down the arm, the source of his doubt for the man’s words.

“I told you, I’m a War Chief from the Homeland.” he said, an easy-going smile on his face. Behind Reiner, Bertholdt furrowed his brow, observing the exchange. “And I’m taking you under my command. Though I’m curious why you have this girl with you. Is she a Shifter?”

Behind him, Bertholdt heard Ymir give a huff.

“You’re a liar, is what you are.” came Reiner’s answer. “I’ve never seen nor heard of you in my life. You need to get out of our way. We don’t answer to you.” 

“A liar, am I?”

A glimmer came from under the coat, and the man who claimed to be a War Chief was holding a knife.

“I can easily prove it.”

There was a glimmer in his eyes as well, and Bertholdt identified it as challenge. A simple partial shift would be enough proof of being a Shifter. In order to prove his status though, he meant to challenge the leader of the group to a duel and demonstrate his ability.

“Back up.” Bertholdt heard Reiner murmur in his direction. Bertholdt did as told, turning on his heel and putting space between himself and the strange newcomer of about twenty feet. Ymir mimicked his motion, though she stopped a bit closer, perhaps curious. Reiner backed up only a bit, and the newcomer made his own distance of fifteen feet. Altogether, a decent distance for a Titan Shift to safely occur.

With a tremendous blast, a Titan erupted, forming a circle of vaporized ground where he stood.

Something was off, though. This Titan was too large by a fraction, maybe seventeen meters. Its arms were long and thin, and almost its whole body was covered in a coarse sort of fur.

 _So this is the Beast Titan…_ Bertholdt thought. Perhaps there was a grain of truth, then, to his claims of being a war chief, given his apparent ability to turn humans into Titans. That said, if this was how he planned on forcing the three of them under his command, he was in for a rough surprise.

In turn, Reiner exploded into being, the Armored Titan bursting forth with glowing gold eyes and an entire body covered in the hardest of armors. The blast blew Bertholdt’s hair back from his head, and ahead of him, Ymir cursed as part of her hair singed. Awe overtook Bertholdt as the Titan rose. Slightly shorter at sixteen meters, Reiner’s Titan was nonetheless the more imposing of the two, with the build lined with muscle and steam bursting from his jaws. It turned back, its head moving over its shoulder to stare down at the two remaining humans on the battlefield. Bertholdt met his gaze, and understood the meaning behind the small jerk of the head he gave: _take cover_.

“C’mon.”

Bertholdt turned and ran for the treeline, Ymir in hot pursuit behind him. On reaching the first trunk, Bertholdt swung around to watch what was happening.

Reiner seemed not to have turned his head back to his opponent in time, and the result was a fist crushed against his faceplate. And yet that result was no different than ever: the attacker took the damage, not Reiner. Bertholdt thought he spotted something jagged, some sort of lump arisen from the Beast Titan’s elongated arm. A piece of armor, chipped off.

The Beast Titan did not seem to be surprised by this. What did rouse a reaction, though, was when he was too slow to prevent Reiner reaching up and gripping the guilty arm, holding him in place with his own left while his right formed a fist. Reiner launched his own armored knuckles straight at the Beast’s face. Bertholdt heard the crack that meant that the enemy had tried to armor his face, to no avail. The Beast Titan was launched a good forty meters, flat on his back, and Reiner pressed his advantage.

“Seems like the man was overconfident.” Ymir said next to him, watching the scene like a hawk.

Bertholdt nodded, keeping his eyes intently on Reiner. When the Beast got up, its shoulder was oddly bent and steam was rising from it. Reiner holding the Beast’s arm when he punched had caused it to rip out of its socket. The Beast seemed to study his approaching opponent, and crouched, palms against the ground, like some sort of strange subhuman creature. As Bertholdt watched, he made a sudden leap towards his right, covering about five or six meters, then leaped back towards the right, covering twelve. A third leap was made toward Reiner, who made no attempt to block the whirling palm that struck down on his head and cracked in two over it. As Reiner drew back and readied his next devastating punch, the Beast did something unexpected with his other arm, and lunged, fingers plunging straight towards Reiner’s eye sockets, which were not moved out of the way in time.

Reiner jerked back, and for a second it seemed as though the Beast had gained ground, but no: Reiner launched his fist anyway, and it landed its mark the very same, blasting the edge of the left shoulder and leaving the Beast, who howled in pain, with his arm dangling from a few stray strands of flesh, only for it to be ripped off in its entirety.

“Armor? Even on his eyes?”

Bertholdt smiled a grim sort of smile, noting Ymir sounded somewhat more wary than before. This strange man was paying severely for his overestimation of his own abilities. Reiner’s Titan was a monstrosity crafted to be utterly indestructible by any means. Even were this man a real war chief, it would’ve been unlikely any ground could have been made against him. The thought was almost scary, though he was soothed knowing the warrior inside it was his best friend, and trained to use it to the fullest effect.

The fight continued in much the same way, and before long the Beast had become wary and erratic, jumping back and forth and circling Reiner several times in some effort to find a weak spot that did not exist. He had also become a mess, a left upper arm half-regenerated and the right one broken at a painful looking angle, and the side of the Beast’s face caved in—the result of a second punch hitting armor that had dug itself into the skull and failed to regenerate properly. And despite his immense advantage, Reiner had not become overconfident himself—each time it seemed as though the Beast might lunge for an unarmored joint or attempt a hold, Reiner would seal the gaps and the limb would not give. Really, this was only to be expected. Reiner was the finest warrior, trained for upwards of ten years and gifted with one of the most fearsome Titans even before the extra three years of soldier training as a human. Worse still, this Beast Titan had proportions all wrong for fighting; the arms were too long and thin, and the gut and legs too squat for quick movement. 

“Why doesn’t he just give up?” Ymir asked from Bertholdt’s left.

“Admitting defeat when you’re the challenger is the mark of a laughingstock.” Bertholdt explained quietly. “That’s not some Homeland ideology, it’s just common sense. Pride dictates he keep fighting even if he’s losing badly, or admit he’s weak and thoughtless.”

“So he’s got no common sense.” Ymir snorted. “A smarter person would’ve realized he’s lost either way. No use in keeping up the humiliation.”

“A smarter person wouldn’t have started this fight in the first place.” Bertholdt pointed out. As he spoke, the Beast Titan doubled over in pain, Reiner’s knee having been slammed into its sternum.

“Fair point. Do you think he’s got some sort of backup plan, though?”

“It’s possible.” he admitted. “He did act like he knew what he was doing. Unless Reiner’s cut off whatever strategy he had without knowing it.”

Reiner was advancing on the Beast, who was backing away rapidly. Ymir, in Bertholdt’s peripheral vision, jerked her head behind her, apparently aware of some noise he hadn’t heard over the battle happening. He ignored it; no doubt she was nervous considering her surroundings.

But then he heard it too: a hiss of gas, a wire cord being reeled in--

“Look out!”

Something flew over their heads, and Bertholdt felt Ymir tackle him sideways, landing hard on the ground and behind a thick tree root. Not a second too soon, a mighty explosion of light and sound ripped his ears apart. The two of them were forced backwards through the air, flying parallel to the ground and skidding to a halt twenty feet behind their starting place. The trees they had landed behind were too close, and was destroyed, splinters of wood flying like so many missiles over their heads and into more trees. The world came down, pine needles and yet more pieces of broken wood raining down from the sky in waves and chunks. Bertholdt’s ears were pounding.

Bertholdt had just enough time to become aware that the pounding in his head wasn’t stopping before his vision faded, and even the sounds of some sort of destruction happening where Reiner was weren’t enough to keep him conscious.

“Wha--? Another Titan Shifter?” came Ymir’s voice above him.


	3. Chapter 02 - Plans

There was a muffled clang as Mikasa attempted to close the door quietly. Turning her gaze back into the room, she saw Armin sitting sideways on Eren’s bed, with Eren himself sitting straight-backed in rapt attention.

“Where have you guys been?” Eren asked as soon as she walked over, in a low voice that still managed to be louder than Mikasa would’ve preferred for secrecy. “I’ve been going nuts in here. All the books are boring as hell.” He didn’t really need to say as much. Mikasa could’ve guessed just by looking at the series of barely-discernible scribbles on the wall Eren’s bed sat against, depicting some sort of fight between Titans that she guessed was another revenge fantasy.

“Shh. We’ve been getting informed and rehearsing plans. They sent us here to tell you how things are going down and they told us to hurry, so we can’t dawdle. Are you listening?”

“Yes.”

“Good. The reason you’ve been hidden out of sight is because of how badly this mission went wrong--” Mikasa saw Eren wince, blaming himself for failing to stop Reiner, but he didn’t interrupt. “We lost a lot of people, and there weren’t just Survey Corps scouts lost, almost the entirety of the Military Police faction that was helping was decimated. Reiner and Bertholdt attacked out of nowhere, took off with you, and in our efforts to get you back, we failed to retrieve Ymir, so we still lost a valuable Shifter. We weren’t authorized to go on that chase, and the prices we paid are on Erwin’s head now.”

“The Military Police in the inner division are going to try to confiscate you and disband the Survey Corps.” Armin picked up after her. “This is the third time in a row now we’ve nearly lost you to enemy Shifters and lost over a hundred good men each time—disbanding us would just be scattering the few dregs left, if we’re honest.”

Eren’s eyes narrowed. “So what are we going to do about it? Surely we’re not just gonna let them take me.”

“There’s not much we can do.” Armin admitted. “The plan for now is to stall for time.”

“We’re hiding you away, and we’re going to try to smuggle you out. It’ll be obvious what happened once an investigation’s done, but by then it’ll be too late. And then….we’ll officially be renegades.” Mikasa finished.

“That’s not much of a plan.”

“It isn’t.” Mikasa admitted. “But it’s all we’ve got. Right now, Levi’s having a meet-up with Reeves--”

“Who’s Reeves?” Eren and Armin asked simultaneously.

“He’s a merchant, the head of a food distribution company. I had to threaten him back at Trost because he was holding up the evacuation line. If we can get his cooperation, the plan is to smuggle you and Historia away in coffins while Armin and Jean act as decoys.”

“Decoys again?” Eren asked dubiously. “Won’t they be expecting that after the Stohess fiasco?”

“Maybe, but--”

“Wait, _I’m_ a decoy?” Armin interrupted. “What am I going to be…... _no_.” he cut himself off, horrified.

“You have to, Armin, you’re the only one we have that looks close enough to Historia. You have to be willing to do anything to win, right?”

Armin’s face looked mutinous. Eren held his hand up to his face, but his sniggering was still audible. “It’s true.” he added. “Blond, blue-eyed, petite. You could be twins.”

Armin said nothing, but retained the sour look on his face. Mikasa could tell Eren was enjoying this after being informed that Jean of all people was supposed to look like him, but now wasn’t the time for humor.

“Stop laughing, this is serious. It’s a long shot, and if we fail, it’s disaster. A lot is riding on us right now, we’re the only ones who know the identities of the Colossal and Armored Titans. So listen to me, Eren: Historia is going to be dropped off here soon. When Squad Leader Zöe comes here this afternoon, she’s going to tell you that we either made the deal, or something went wrong, and you’re going to do what she says down to the letter. Hopefully, she’ll lead you and Historia to wherever the meet-up is, and load you guys up to look like cargo.”

“Got it.” Eren said. “What’s Commander Erwin up to?”

“No doubt he’s dealing with the aftermath of all this.” Armin answered. “Our record as of late has been failure after failure. We didn’t capture the Female Titan, then Annie sealed herself away after the battle in Stohess, and then we lost Ymir, who would’ve been our one saving grace. Add in the other unknown factors like the Beast Titan and the attack on Utgard by Ragako’s transformed villagers, and the only thing we know for sure is that we’ve been outwitted several times over. If Erwin hasn’t been stripped of duty before the night is over, I’ll be shocked. Disbanding the entire Corps will take a bit longer in the chambers, especially as there are other troops that weren’t involved, but it’s almost certain that much will follow.”

“And if that does happen…?”

Armin shrugged, then looked to Mikasa. She shook her head, uncertain herself. “I guess we’ll be guerillas. Everyone here has sworn their hearts to humanity, though many of them will comply with the disbanding order. We can’t leave ourselves helpless against the Titans, especially with the other Shifters out there, and Annie still within the Walls. Whatever organization we have after will have to be hidden out of sight, unless we want to be arrested and executed for treason.”

“And the government probably thinks the best idea is to just turtle and wait for the Shifters to come and destroy us all.” Eren huffed. “So long as they’re safe, everyone else can die in a fire.”

“You’re on the money.” Armin answered. “But keep that quiet, would you? It’s not like it’ll ever get proven.”

“So, if I have this right, Historia’s going to come back here, then Squad Leader Zöe’s going to come back, then we’re going to get in coffins and be carted off somewhere until we figure out what sort of shitstorm is happening?”

“Pretty much. Any questions?” She answered.

“Guess not. You guys should probably get going.”

“I guess so.”

Mikasa stood up, and Armin did the same. The two headed for the door, and on their way out, took another glance back at Eren, who nodded. They closed the door behind them.

“I hope this works.”

* * *

Mikasa swung up to the rooftop where she saw her Squad Leaders, closely followed by Armin. She landed a small ways behind Levi.

“Do we have the deal?”

“Yeah, we have it.” Levi answered, sipping a cup of tea as though he weren’t precariously perched on a roof. “And we got a guaranteed cut of black tea out of it.”

“This meeting was supposed to be about Eren.” Mikasa answered, irritated and not bothering to hide it. “We’re in a dire situation right now, you don’t have time to be slavering after you preferred tea brand.”

“Watch your mouth.” Levi answered without looking at her.

Mikasa backed off, but not because she’d been ordered to. No matter what the higher-ups in the Corps insisted, she and he both tended to get away with saying whatever they wanted to because of their skill. And Levi was too afraid of getting into a confrontation with her, she was sure. But again, there were more important things to talk about.

“So, we’re proceeding with the plan?”

“I hope you’re not gonna ask questions with obvious answers all afternoon.”

“When it’s your brother at risk, then you can complain.” she answered stubbornly, and before Levi could interrupt, “What part are you going to play in this?”

“I’m security, so I’m obviously going to sit here and take a load off.” Levi said with disinterest. “I’m going to be coming with you. Or rather, _you’re_ going to be coming with _me_. We’re going to set up a trap for the people that come to kidnap Eren and Historia, and we’re going to get information out of them. Got it?”

“Understood.” she answered, eyes narrowed. “Who else will be coming?”

“Your friend Sasha, and Hanji will be joining us after she sees off the real Eren and Historia.”

“Sasha’s coming?” Mikasa answered, surprised.

“Yes. Your friend seems to have an intuition where danger is concerned, and she knows the woods where the supply lines run better than most of us. A few other personnel will be coming, but not enough to tip anyone off. Any more questions?”

“No sir.”

“Then you, stay here. Arlert, go meet up with Hanji the next block over, she and Kirchstein are waiting on you.”

“Understood, sir.”

Mikasa watched as Armin took a running start and swung off, heading for his instructions. She would have to look out for him. Though it was frustrating to leave Eren to chance again, this was the best thing they could both do to protect him.


	4. Chapter 02.5 - Titan Intermission 2

Bertholdt awoke, groggy, to strange thuds and loud roars. After a few blinks, he jerked up, head hurting but forcing himself awake despite the pain. He recognized those roars as the ones made by the Armored Titan. Was the fight still happening? Before he can struggle to his feet, he feels restraint, and as he fights it, he sees what he’s being held away from.

The scene had changed dramatically from when Bertholdt had last been awake. Where once there were two Titans, now there were three. The Armored Titan was bent back, arms held out by a newcomer, a fifteen-meter, skinless Titan. As Bertholdt watched, the Beast Titan, crouched over the Armored, began digging regenerated fingers into the skin on the sides of the Armored’s faceplate, not hardened in time. With a tremendous roar, the armor was pulled away, ripped from the flesh it was fused to, until the Beast’s hands jerked away, the right half of the faceplate in his grasp.

Bertholdt scrabbled and struggled harder against his captor, and before he could bite his tongue, her hand came up to invade his mouth, preventing him from doing so. Undeterred, he squirmed until his right arm was free and moved for his left blade, only for a hand to close over that too.

“Stop struggling!” Ymir hissed. “Don’t interfere!”

“They’re hurting Reiner!” Bertholdt answered, panicked, and tears threatening his face as he watched the Armored Titan’s jaw plate and right eye lens ripped off with another roar.

“Reiner chose to accept the challenge! If we get involved--”

“ _Challenge_? Cheats and liars! This was supposed to be one Titan versus one Titan!”

“Shut up!” Ymir shushed him, voice directly in his ear now. “That was never agreed on. Remember, that man that generated the Beast Titan said he wanted us under his command. He’s not gonna kill Reiner, especially with the asskicking he got just a minute ago.”

“A—A minute? How long was I—?”

“Yeah, a minute. Maybe two. Shut up and watch what happens before you rush over there and get hurt.”

Ymir’s words made sense and he hated her for it. As far as he was concerned, this was a violation he couldn’t and wouldn’t stand for. Bertholdt continued to struggle, trying in vain to cause himself some sort of blood injury and despising that whatever cuts and scrapes he’d earned from the stranger’s Titan generation had already healed during his period of unconsciousness.

Though Ymir did not free him, he eventually complied, breathing heavily, and tried to focus on what was happening. With the last bit of armor torn away from the flesh on Reiner’s face, the Beast Titan pulled his left arm, which had just finished regenerating, back and pulled the hand into a fist, before launching it straight at Reiner’s vulnerable face, fingers covered with a hard layer of crystalline armor.

To his credit, Reiner did not cry out in pain, but the thud and the crack of the skull caused Bertholdt’s heart to jump into his throat. The Beast Titan reared back and sent his hand at Reiner’s face again, but this time dug his sizable claws into Reiner’s cheek, preventing the vulnerable flesh from hardening against his hands in time. The roars of agony quickly started up again as the Beast Titan began tearing flesh away from the Armored Titan’s face. The Armored still struggled and struggled harder, and the new skinless Titan readjusted its grip, straining to keep the strongest warrior under his grip.

Bertholdt closed his eyes, though he still heard the roars as they became more and more muffled. He heard tearing of flesh and knew Reiner’s entire Titan head was being forcibly disassembled. Ymir’s grip slackened slightly, and the roars stopped, though Bertholdt still felt afraid to look.

How had this happened? This had obviously been the Beast Titan’s intention from the start, but who was this stranger that had arrived right on time to turn the entire battle around in the Beast Titan’s favor? What sort of person were they, and why would the Beast Titan need them if he already had a Titan under his command? Was this another enemy they were going to have to worry about?

Eventually, Bertholdt opened his eyes. The newcomer Titan had the top half of the Armored Titan’s head, unrecognizable though it was, in its hands, and let it drop to the earth with a thud, followed by the lower body. It backed away, giving the Beast Titan room to crouch over the defeated opponent, placing its feet on top of the plated chest.

“We could’ve intervened. We _should_ have intervened.” Bertholdt complained, wrenching himself out of Ymir’s grip without tearing his eyes away from the scene. Ymir did not defend herself, or answer at all. Now free, Bertholdt began a hefty sprint, tripping once on a rock, but making it halfway across the distance to his partner before slowing and stopping.

“ _I win.”_

Bertholdt’s eyes widened, having not heard a Titan successfully speak fluently before. Above him, the Beast Titan lowered its head, and the nape of its neck began to convulse; now that the battle was over, its owner was coming out. The new Titan, fifteen meters above, did the same. Now that things were still, Bertholdt got a better look at the new Titan: packed with muscle, but lean with long limbs, its body red without skin to cover the flesh, and deep-set grey eyes over a long nose: clear Homeland Shifter features. Its head was topped with black hair set back in a series of slicked-back spikes. Satisfied that it was safe to move, Bertholdt ran the rest of the way to the steaming Titan, unable to tell whether it was regenerating or dissolving. Had they not torn him out?

When he reached his fallen friend, Reiner was still half buried in flesh, one arm sunk to the elbow. He was breathing heavily, and from what Bertholdt could tell, not because he was weary, but because he was livid. The battle had only lasted roughly three minutes, when Bertholdt knew his endurance was capable of more. Evidently, he was furious about the lack of honesty in the duel as well. He reached under Reiner’s arms, heaving and attempting to pull him free from his flesh tendons. Reiner does his best to help, dislodging himself from his Titan bit by bit.

“Now, I think I’ve proven my status as a War Chief. You two will be coming with me, and you’ll call me War Chief Zeke.”

Bertholdt looked up at this ‘Zeke’, while Reiner dusted himself off. He hated the fact that fear must be on his face, rather than the justified rage that was doubtlessly on Reiner’s. Who did this man think he was?

“Fuck yourself.” Reiner spat, while Bertholdt let go of him and backed away a bit. Did Reiner have enough for a second transformation? Bertholdt would fight with him this time, if that’s what he wanted. Would Ymir shift and help? It would be a three-on-one, and a well-deserved reversal, but Bertholdt doubted she would put herself out like that, even if she did sympathize with their situation.

Another swing of a wire, another hiss of fuel, and Bertholdt was blindsided. Swept out of the way by a blur from the right, Bertholdt was shoved back a few feet and nearly lost balance.

“ _Reiner_!”

Blinking, Bertholdt witnessed a man slightly shorter than Reiner, wrapped around him in a vicious… embrace? The man stepped back, and Bertholdt saw that he was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, and working 3-Dimensional Maneuver Gear. He appeared about as young as they were, sixteen or seventeen and clean-shaven. Overall, he resembled his Titan from the top half up, most especially the hair, but it was his bottom half that drew attention.

The man’s pants were in tatters, and ended at clear rips just above the knees. From there down, the maneuver gear’s straps were wrapped around legs that were red and raw, the calves misshapen. A thick cord of mutated muscle wound around the outer side of the left calf, while two smaller ones ran along the inside and outside of the right calf. The ankle bones were elevated off the ground, and the toes were elongated and ended in wicked talon-like nails.

Bertholdt spared a glance at the other people present: upward, towards the War Chief sliding down off of the dissolving Armored Titan, a terrible smirk on his face. And then to the left, back towards the treeline. Ymir appeared to have followed him out of the woods, but hesitated, and still stood staring at the scene about twenty feet away. He returned his gaze to the strange, misshapen man just in time to see Reiner force him away, alarmed.

“Who the hell are you?!” Reiner demanded, backing away.

No sooner had Reiner forced the stranger off him than had he changed direction and launched himself at Bertholdt, who did not get his arms inbetween the two in time. The feeling of an enemy’s jaws so close to his neck, potentially posed to rip out his jugular, was frightening and Bertholdt quickly struggled free.

“Who--” he started, but his voice did not have the same effect as Reiner’s, and he stumbled. “W-Who--?”

“Don’t you recognize me?” the stranger said in an undisturbed tone, a brilliant smile on his face and his eyes wide and alight, eyes that looked as though they were frozen in a permanent state of shock. “It’s me!”

Bertholdt, as he heard footsteps in the grass that told him Ymir was approaching, told himself that he did not recognize this boy, and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. This boy’s elation at this situation was unnerving.

And yet, he knew exactly who was standing in front of him. Even nine years later, he knew those features like he knew his own fingertips. Much about the boy had changed since Bertholdt had last seen him, but even underneath it all, the face was too similar, the nose and cheeks and eyes all too familiar.

It was Berik Marcel.


	5. Chapter 03 - Heading Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant image for this chapter: https://media2.giphy.com/media/11YHs2qGpNUX1C/200_s.gif

The door to the room opened again, and Squad Leader Zöe ushered Christa—no, _Historia_ —in. The door was quickly closed afterward before Eren got a chance to ask any questions.

Historia looked around the room, not saying anything. Eren sat up, scooting over to the edge of the bed and patting the spot next to him. He couldn’t hate her, despite Ymir turning traitor and Historia pledging herself to Ymir. If anything, with the recent developments, he was curious to know what else she was keeping locked up. Hopefully it didn’t have anything to do with Titans.

After some pause, Historia walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. She leaned forward heavily, resting her arms on her knees. It struck Eren how very, very small she was.

“So is anything going through that head of yours? Any thoughts on what’s going on?” he prompted her. Historia shook her head. _Surely she’s got something to say_ , Eren thought. As he watched, Historia picked up one of the pencils left by the edge of the bed and took to drawing on the wall, about a foot away from where his titan battle scrawlings had been drawn.

“What’s the deal behind your name anyway?” Eren asked, challenging her silence. ‘Christa’ doesn’t sound a lot like ‘Historia’. What did you run from?”

Again, Historia shook her head and paid him no mind.

 _As it turns out_ , Eren thought, _even when I’m calm I suck at getting information out of people_. The things that had happened in the past couple days seemed to have really changed the girl. Where previously, one couldn’t get her to shut up about kindness and peace and there was practically a halo over her head, now she just seemed morbid. It wasn’t the worst change in the world, but it wasn’t exactly helpful.

“C’mon. We’re going to be in here for a while, so you and I might as well talk.” Eren said.

“Talk about other things.”

It seemed whatever she had to hide, she thought Eren had no right to it, and he wasn’t going to win it out of her. Eren stared, frustrated, at the things Historia was drawing on the wall with a slow, detailed hand. It seemed to be a woman. Was it Ymir?

“You’ve got a weird relationship with her.” he said, jerking his head at the drawing. Eren was pleased to see that she stopped and looked at him, surprised.

“What do you mean?”

“Ymir. I mean, we all knew she had this crazy thing for you, but none of us expected you to feel the same way. It’s like an angel falling for a demon.”

“I’m no angel.” Historia answered, eyes narrowed.

“That’s news to me. You were all about altruism seventy-two hours ago.”

“Seventy-two hours ago, Reiner and Bertholdt were still human soldiers.”

Eren gawped, mouth slightly ajar and eyes widened. That twist in the conversation wasn’t just unexpected, it was uncalled for.

“Sorry.” she apologized, her voice a little less flat. “That was a low blow, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was.” Eren frowned. “Did you not like Reiner and Bertholdt?”

“Reiner was a very kind man. I….still want to believe he’s a kind man. I never knew any more about Bertholdt than the rest of you.”

Eren’s ajar mouth only widened. That anyone would come into a room with _him_ , sit next to _him_ , after everything that had just happened, and speak good will of Reiner was nothing short of offensive. Toxic. Heinous. An exaggeration perhaps, but not something to be taken lightly, given his rage still roiling underneath the surface for those two. Eren considers how next to attack her, trying to find some polite way to ask her how in the _hell_ she could defend Reiner, but she went on without him.

“I’m sure there’s more to the story. Ymir chose to go with them, she said she understood them. I don’t know about those two, and they could be the devil incarnate for all I know. But I still think Ymir is a good person, underneath all her cynicism.”

 _That must be it_ , Eren thought, reassuring himself. She wasn’t defending them, she was just looking out for Ymir. And Ymir, shrewd bitch though she was, wasn’t a traitor….as far as he knew.

“You’re...I don’t know what to make of you.”

“You miss Christa?”

“No. How different is Christa supposed to be? What’s with the personality change all of a sudden?”

Historia sighed, and went back to her drawing. “I’m just tired, Eren. I’m sorry.”

Some time passed, and Eren idly watched Historia’s hand craft a face. The Ymir on the wall had the real thing’s dark hair, but Historia didn’t seem too intent on drawing her face. Eventually, it occurred to him that there were still other questions to ask.

“What do you think of our chances?”

She kept drawing, but did glance at him. “Against the Military Police, or the Titans?”

“Both.”

Historia seemed to be thinking about her answer, or maybe she couldn’t find a way to phrase it. The few seconds it took made Eren honestly wonder if it was something other than ‘we’re doomed’.

“The Military Police….are our biggest threat for now. I know they’re bumbling, but we need to watch out for them. They have a lot more control over the situation than we do, they work for the king. As for Reiner and Bertholdt…well, I don’t know. They could come back and exterminate humanity at any time, but they seem to want you too badly. The good thing is that as long as we’re keeping under wraps, they won’t be any wiser to where you are than the Military Police.”

“ _Oh_!” Eren said suddenly, “I remember what I wanted to ask earlier—why _are_ you here with me?” He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to actually say. Not that he enjoyed being a sack for people to toss back and forth and hide away as necessary, but what made Historia important enough to be put in the same position as the only Titan Shifter on humanity’s side? Why hadn’t he asked that when Armin and Mikasa were here?

Historia paused, and didn’t seem to want to look at Eren. It took her another long time to come up with it. “I guess because I was close with a Titan Shifter. I’m sure they’d want Mikasa for the same thing, if you were the one that had been taken and she was left. It’s not like I’m that important.”

Eren wondered, only briefly, if she was lying, and was soon sure of it. Before he could call her out on it, she spoke again.

“You’ve been asking so many questions, I forgot to tell you. We’ll be leaving in two hours. We’re just taking a ride to a hidden base the next district over, and then spending a day there to regroup before we leave again. It’s probably best if we just try to make the best of the trip by sleeping through it.”

“Oh.” Well, that was helpful. And a clear end to any further discussion on the previous topics.

* * *

“Okay, get in.”

Eren stared at the coffin being pointed out. Historia was already halfway into hers when she looked back. It was dusk, and the woods were painted in an orange glow that was giving way to indigo as the sun descended.

“I suppose this is a more comfortable way to travel than in produce crates.”

“You’re damn right it is.” came the fellow scout’s voice. “Remember not to spit your blades out if you’re going to nod off. Last thing we want is you choking on miniature knives in your sleep.”

 _What a pleasant image_ , Eren thought. He stepped up onto the cart and got in haphazardly, but successfully. Laying down against the hard, flat wood, darkness overtook him when the lid was closed on top. _Better get used to the new coaches. I’m gonna be using them for a while_.

With only a small, tiny sliver of orange to see by, and that was being generous with the term, Eren sighed and prepared himself for the long journey as best he could. If only he felt the least bit tired, perhaps this would be a bit more bearable. The sounds of reins being tugged and horses being sent off came to him through the wood, and soon small thuds and thumps came up through his back.

But tomorrow, they would be at their destination, and they’d be able to take a rest.


	6. Chapter 03.5 - Titan Intermission 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It’s been a while since I wrote for this fix fic, but it’s still going and I’m still determined to finish it and rewrite the series. If you couldn’t tell by the last Titan intermission, you can go ahead and discard pretty much everything you know about the series past Chapter 80, I won’t be keeping any of that; I’ve been writing the outlines and I have all of the Uprising arc planned out and mostly all of the Shiganshina Battle arc planned as well, but after that comes my own original material. I’m going to try to hurry the hero half of the Uprising arc along, since it was so painfully slow in the source material. Snipping will be done often._

Ymir drew closer by a few feet, though continued to keep her distance, wanting nothing to do with the newcomer. Reiner and Bertholdt’s faces mimicked the surprise she herself felt. Neither of them seemed to believe their eyes, and Ymir herself wondered if she’d seen this man before. There was something familiar about him. But, that was impossible. She would surely remember a man with as unnerving a smile as that and such ruined legs. 

Ahead of her, Bertholdt murmured something, though she couldn’t make out what it was, and then looked straight at her, a curious look in her eyes. Before she could ask him what he’d said, or what that stupid gawk was supposed to mean, the ‘war chief’ spoke up.

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, I believe that’s my win. Thus, you three are now formally under my command.”

Reiner spat at Zeke’s feet, leaving nothing to guess about just what he thought of Zeke’s win. Ymir herself thought this to be a very stupid move; even if the duel itself was unfair and cheated, it didn’t really matter in the long run. Zeke had already summoned one Titan Shifter to battle. If he couldn’t win against both Reiner and Bertholdt, who would surely fight together, with that one accomplice, then there was no guarantee he couldn’t or wouldn’t summon more. This _was_ the same Titan that had the power to turn humans into mindless Titans overnight. His methods were not to be held up to honorable standards if Reiner wanted all three of them in one piece each.

“Your win wasn’t valid.” Bertholdt said, quiet enough that Ymir had to strain to hear him and moved a bit closer. “By the standards of trial by combat, you aren’t fit to be a war chief.” 

“A war chief’s job is to win victory for his side whatever way he can. I demonstrated this now. Your old friend has seen me fit to lead and worth joining, I think you should follow his example.”

The spiky-haired man’s grin grew wider. All eyes turned to him for a moment.

“Real fights are won with more than skill in combat. Intelligence matters.” he said simply, rolling one shoulder.

Reiner snorted, clearly disliking the implication that his brains weren’t up to scratch compared to his brawn. But that statement by the newcomer, Ymir agreed with, and she took another step closer. If this man really was an ‘old friend’ of Reiner’s and Bertholdt’s, then Zeke had already showcased his cunning by involving him in a battle against Reiner and putting the two warriors in a position where denying Zeke was more difficult than it should have been. She felt reminded of chess; while the queen had all of the power to defeat the enemy, the piece that made all decisions was the king, a capable but overall impotent piece. She let out a snort of her own, noting that if Zeke was the king, then that made Reiner and Bertholdt queens. That sound, unfortunately, drew glances from all four men.

“And who’s this?” Zeke asked, appraising and adjusting his glasses. Ymir immediately felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and especially uncomfortable being scrutinized by the wide-eyed freak. “Reiner is the Armored Titan, and Bertholdt the Colossal Titan, but her…..why have you brought her?”

“She’s valuable.” Bertholdt stated, and left it at that. A small pause ensued before Reiner picked up. 

“She’s a shifter. She’s not involved in the war, but she could benefit our side.”

Ymir noted this attempt to keep her distanced from the main conflict, and appreciated it, though she realized it would do little good. Sure enough, Zeke’s gaze turned from disdainful to interested.

“She could also be a liability. I think she should show us her Titan shift before we go deciding she’s too valuable not to keep around.”

A heavy silence followed Zeke’s words. Ymir could feel all four men staring at her, and felt disgusted by their scrutiny. She had committed to this. It was her duty to do what she could to survive, to return to Historia, and she wished that she could still accomplish that by being selfish and irascible. But she’d stuck with Reiner and Bertholdt, and she couldn’t simply quit because someone like this war chief had come along. Still though, the idea of just shifting to showcase, becoming the Dancing Titan just to entertain a bespectacled smug general. She avoided answering for several seconds, instead looking over at the smoldering remains of Reiner’s Armored Titan, the last of the armor plates now flaking away and dissolving. The silence eventually grew heavy enough that she was close to opening her mouth and denying him, but Reiner spoke up first.

“You have to show them. If you don’t shift, then you’re a human, and if you’re human, they kill you.”

Ymir closed her eyes. It did not escape her how Reiner said ‘they’ instead of ‘we’, and it probably hadn’t escaped Zeke and the spiky-haired man either. 

“Whatever.”

She brought her hand up to her mouth, preferring the cleaner method than simply biting her tongue or lip. She drew the back of her hand roughly across her top teeth, drawing blood, and the world around her was engulfed in a brilliant light, then a brilliant darkness as the explosion ripped away the ground around her. _So many explosions today for so few results._

The blackness opened, Ymir’s new Titan eyes gazing down at the ground seven meters below. Curses were yelled and spat from Zeke, Reiner, and the spiky-haired man, which Ymir enjoyed: she had not given them warning nor time to get out of the way, and it seemed as though they’d hauled ass just to get out of the blast radius. Reaching up with a clawed hand, she scratched at her right ear, making sure it was working. The men’s voices continued to sound from down below. She examined her company. Reiner and Bertholdt did not look at her, instead watching the other two intently for signs of attack. Zeke and Spiky-Hair, however, were gazing up at her with surprised faces.

“Now, that’s interesting...” came Zeke’s voice, and his eyes behind the glasses were assessing her again. Ymir shifted her gaze to meet Spiky-Hair’s, and again was highly unnerved. Spiky-Hair was gaping with his mouth held slightly open and eyes wide in shock, but his grin still hadn’t left his face. His expression was wildly excited, yet his body language was not tense or ready to run. A hand had come to rest on one of the swords in his maneuver gear and he was fingering it idly.

“It is interesting.” he agreed, voice mild.

“Eight….no, seven meters. Black eyes, large claws and fangs. Long arms, short legs, and that nose...” Zeke observed. Ymir, gaze locked with Spiky-Hair’s, saw his mouth close and his smile grow with each feature mentioned. “You can exit your Titan, now.”

Before Ymir could comply, she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the middle of her face on the bridge of her nose. She growled, voicing her discomfort, and discovered that the source of it was a cable from Spiky-Hair’s maneuver gear.

“She shows pain too easily.” he said, grinning up at her. With a hiss and the sound of coiling wire, Spiky-Hair jumped up and landed against her nose. Ymir bared her fangs, staring the man head-on through her right eye while flexing the clawed fingers on her right hand. He was too close to her eyes, and able to slash them out if he wanted, not to mention too close to her nape, and she did not have the flesh-hardening ability that provided armor that Reiner did. 

“I never thought I’d see you again, hag.” he said past his gritted teeth, eyes still glinting. Inside her Titan, Ymir pulled her senses back, jolted into her own body by surprise. See her again? She had felt familiarity, but had dismissed it before. Who was this man, and why did he think they’d met before? “My name is Berik Marcel, but I expect you’ve already been told about me.”

 _Berik Marcel_?

That was the name of Bertholdt and Reiner’s friend, the one that Bertholdt had discussed with her in the Forest of Giant Trees. This was that boy? That couldn’t be possible. He was dead, and due to him being dead, Ymir was alive and sane in her own body. Not remembering anything from her time as a mindless Titan, Ymir had no way to remember the boy she’d eaten, but she knew that generally being bitten apart, dissolved inside a Titan’s stomach, or both was supposed to be fatal, for humans and Titan shifters alike. So this man being Berik Marcel didn’t make sense.

She did not feel safe with him so close. Ymir grabbed him, glad to find that her reflexes enabled her to catch ‘Berik’ in her hand before he could jump away and tossed him away. Without any hint of activating his maneuver gear, he flipped backwards and landed on his feet, complete with a skid against the burnt ground that left unnatural scrape marks. She rose partially out of the nape of her titan, normal human vision returning to her as she lowered her Dancing Titan enough to gaze at the men below.

“Have you had your fill?” she asked, rasping out the words.

“Yes, we have. Exit your Titan now.” Zeke repeated, looking unconcerned. 

Ymir did not comply. Now that she was in her Titan, she did not want to leave it. Somehow, she had ended up being the only person on the scene with no Maneuver Gear. And if she left her Titan, she wouldn’t be able to generate another for some time, too long. If any of them made to attack her, this Titan was her only defense. She would not leave it so easily. 

“I said, leave your Titan.” Zeke repeated, no impatience in his voice, but eyes shining malevolently. It seemed disobeying orders was not something he took kindly to. Again, Reiner intervened on her behalf.

“Let her stay in it. She’s wary.”

“She should be.” said Berik, looking for all the world as though this fact was delighting him. “She’s a thief.”

“Oh?” Zeke said, interested. 

“Yes! She’s--”

Ymir’s eyes widened as Berik was knocked flat on his ass before he could complete his sentence. Reiner’s large fist was the culprit, and Zeke looked livid.

“She _was_ a thief.” he clarified. “Until you showed yourself capable of Titan shifting. Since you still have that power, you can’t really call it ‘theft’, especially since she wasn’t conscious for it.” he said, face hard and challenging. Ymir was stunned, not having thought that either of them would raise a hand to someone who she had considered to be a safety ward on Zeke’s part.

Berik simply laughed, returning to his feet easily. “She’s the Titan that bit me clean in half nine years ago. She owes everything she has to me. But the bigger point is, she’s a _human_. One who gained my Titan powers by accident. Law says she should be executed.”

“The law also says that you should be stripped of your rank and eaten.” Bertholdt pointed out, surprising Ymir. “If you only want to follow the law when it benefits you, Reiner and I can simply annihilate you both here and now.” he said quietly.

Both of them positioned themselves between Ymir’s Titan and her aggressors. Unbidden, a rush of gratitude filled her that she hated them for. They didn’t have to do this. Zeke frowned, and to Ymir’s relief, so did Berik. This seemed to have caught them off guard.

“While we’re on the subject, maybe you’d like to tell us how you survived?” Reiner prompted. “We saw you eaten, Berik. You….you pushed me out of the way.” He said, his voice cracking despite the situation. “Is this a miracle or something?”

Berik simply smiled, allowing Zeke to answer for him.

“Berik’s survival is no miracle. You see, Berik has unearthed a new Titan shifting ability. And if the three of you come with me and prepare for battle,” Zeke said, “you can learn that ability. Well, the purebloods can.” he said, glancing up at Ymir. “Her….well, I don’t know. You’re coming either way. Retrieval of Annie Leonhardt is not the end goal now.”

Reiner and Bertholdt said nothing for a second. Though Ymir could only see the backs of their heads, she figured they were scrutinizing Zeke and Berik.

“And where are we going?” Reiner asked. Zeke lifted his glasses off the bridge of his nose, and his own wicked smile returned to his face.

“Shiganshina.”


End file.
